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Fun Fact

Arik Devens and Allen Pikewww.funfact.fm
Once a month, Arik Devens and Allen Pike take turns sharing fun facts. Practical, historical, technical, and trivial facts all deserve their fair shake.
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Episodes

Ready for a New Banana

Ô Canada is bananas, scientific progress used to be bananas, and the farming of bananas is itself bananas. O Canada in English and French Banana fungus arrives in Colombia Yes, We Have No Bananas McCormicks Marshmallow Bananas Patrick Collison on EconTalk , on the pace of science The accidental creation of YInMn Blue The One True Lens, the F1.8 normal prime...

Sep 20, 201958 minEp. 22

Everyone Was William

Historical figures make up names, Italians get assigned names, large social groups forget one another’s names, and the children are coming. The Top 10: People with invented middle initials Benoit B. Mandelbrot Why Do We Call Galileo Galilei by His First Name? Occupational surnames Fun Fact’s Guest host poll Dunbar’s Number The Monkeysphere The Ice T on SVU Bot Monopoly Socialism is bad and should feel bad Allen’s daughter’s mind being blown by My Little Pony...

Sep 06, 201958 minEp. 21

Lil Nas 10

Allen warns of impending doom, Arik spreads socialist propaganda, and we ride ‘til we can’t no more. The Year 2038 Problem The NULL vanity plate The Landlord’s Game Economist Henry George Monopoly is Theft 1906 Monopoly Rules Power Grid on BoardGameGeek How TikTok Made “Old Town Road” Become Both A Meme And A Banger @emojimashupbot Cochin’s italic ampersand @Aleen’s version of Little Red Corvette...

Aug 23, 201949 minEp. 20

Hit Me with Your Pet Shark

Arik redefines the alphabet, Allen redefines fire, and we both ruin popular music. The Ampersand History of the Ampersand The Phlogiston theory of combustion What is a mondegreen? Wikipedia’s mondegreens Mairzy Doats Is This the Dirtiest Song of the Sixties? Prisencolinensinainciusol The Trouble with Jimmies Seattle: by the ocean? Ucluelet...

Aug 09, 201954 minEp. 19

Probably A Scheme

Arik celebrates a fictional rep, Allen reps an architectural ploy, and we follow a dead metaphor around the world. Jakob Maria Mierscheid @jakobmierscheid 432 Park Avenue 432’s land assembly method The closing of the loophole “Greek to me” @limi’s challenge on Twitter Dead metaphor...

Jul 26, 201951 minEp. 18

The Marshmallow Blob Market

Allen reviews the monarchy, we gain fluency in Pittsburghese, and Arik discovers TikTok. Western Pennsylvania English Monophthongization Diphthong Yinz Wanna Learn Pittsburghese on YouTube ATP: A Rotation You Can’t Complete Big wheel Wheel (computing) The Word Detective - Big Wheel Why does “big cheese” mean someone important? Are You a “Big Wheel” or a “Fifth Wheel”? Sonoma Democrat, Volume XV, Number 16, 27 January 1872 The Big Wheel (film) Where did the “wheel” group get its name? Wheeler dea...

Jul 12, 201959 minEp. 17

Broken and Evil

A world tour of facts – from Virginia to the Bay Area, from Shakespearean England to Soap Followup City. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea You Thou T-V Distinction Grammatical Person The Fastly Network Map The Dulles Technology Corridor The Veritasium video on making your hand not wettable Some images from rejected emoji proposals Lauren Florko’s proposal for a climate change emoji Rejected emoji contest We want nominates for the best rejected emoji that the Emoji Consortium has deemed unfit for our ...

Jun 28, 201953 minEp. 16

Two Dumpster Fires

Water is wet, Teslas are trouble, and we delve into the wild world of rejected emoji. Wikipedia: Wetting Surfactance , one of the two mechanisms that makes soap work. (Spoiler: it turns out there is a second, which we’ll cover next episode.) Quora: Is water wet? The Slime 40051 Digital Tire Inflator (12-V) The Emoji Consortium Proposal Status list Australian Aboriginal Flag Fitzpatrick Scale Rejected emoji contest We would love to see you or your friends attempt to represent any of the emoji tha...

Jun 13, 201958 minEp. 15

40 Cans of Fake Pea Mayo

Arik blows up Allen’s calendar, Allen blows up the Impossible Burger, and science goes too far. Cortex 85: Grey’s Non-Linear Life The surprisingly complex tale of the work week and weekend Bloomberg’s How Just Mayo Sold Silicon Valley The scourge of highly dangerous Dihydrogen Monoxide – it could attack at any time Impossible Foods’ pitch on how GMO soy is more sustainable Sidetone in telephony...

May 31, 201959 minEp. 14

Unexpected Royalty Corner

Arik pitches an emperor, Allen pitches a Twitter feature, and we get some inside info on anvil-launching. The tweet to nowhere: private replies on Twitter Shadow banning Norton the 1st, Emperor of United States, Protector of Mexico The 1820 Settlers Vancouver housing sales tumble to 33-year low Metro Vancouver real estate prices are 65% overvalued: Economist Mortimer, troll of Vancouver Real Estate The Haskell Free Library and Opera House Goodbye, e-Golf VW I.D. Crozz The Honda E See the Victori...

May 17, 20191 hrEp. 13

A Poorly Rendered Plow

Arik punks pirates, Allen flogs flags, and we fail horribly at evolving infrared vision. Pirates and their eyepatches According to Quora , MythBusters , and The Fact Site The yearly 21 cannon salute The esteemed City Flag of New Westminster and its own description of its city symbols State Flag of Washington CBC’s Justin McElroy ranks every BC municipal flag from worst to best The infamous Liberia County Flags Lexical Ambiguity James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a bette...

May 03, 201958 minEp. 12

More of a Facty Fact

Arik sells snake oil, Allen extols the virtues of rags, and things get very serious in rural North Dakota. Telsa Model Y The BMW i3’s not-sealed frunk Rag paper A Scientific American article from 1869 on the rag paper process Genuine Snake oil The Canadian film rating system Example of a “Restricted Cougar” trailer: Bijou Rugby claims victory in center of North America trademark dispute...

Apr 19, 201954 minEp. 11

3 Ways to Make Your Butt Bigger

Allen ruins koalas, Arik ruins guys, Canada ruins its airport codes, and WikiHow was already ruined when we got there. Unfortunately, koalas sound like this australianwebsites.com.au Some dazzling photos of ships including the RMS Olympic All the airport codes – Thanks to Dr. Lauren Florko for the excellent fact suggestion on airport codes. Hey guys Guy Fawkes The origin of “guy” Guido The illuminati and the Titanic Robert Ballard , the USS Scorpion and the USS Thresher The Titanic’s route Party...

Apr 05, 201950 minEp. 10

Evolutionarily Deprecated

Allen offends some marsupials, Arik disproves Jesus, and we discuss a scheme for getting rich. The toxic culture at Revolut The “In case you missed it” regex for Tweetbot: (?i)(in.*case|if).*you.*missed.*it The “ Mother of the bride dress ” The day there was no news Jesus’ name : Jesus’ language Yeshua Yeshua to Jesus The Great Vowel Shift Index investing Buying One of Everything Why Warren Buffett recommends index investing Canadian Couch Potato Woolly Mammoths and the pyramids...

Mar 22, 20191 hr 8 minEp. 9

A Scandal Hydra

Arik shows up the Titanic, Allen mutes everything, and we share some key bird facts. How not to lead a startup Lyle’s studfinding video How to use advanced muting on Twitter A recent tale of cougar defense from Colorado The Olympic The Titanic’s Ghostly Twin The RMS Olympic Why a turkey is a called a turkey...

Mar 08, 20191 hr 9 minEp. 8

One Fact at a Time

Arik defends himself from Facebook, Allen defends himself from cougars, and Arik doesn’t know what a hot hatch is. The original Facebook FTC settlement Victory for Lemonaid Cougar safety Cinco de Mayo and the Battle of Puebla The glass delusion and Charles VI Why it sounded like Grover dropped an f-bomb Click consonants The Chevy Celebrity wagon and the much more preferable 2019 Toyota Corolla wagon...

Feb 22, 20191 hr 6 minEp. 7

Nobody's Getting Scurvy

Allen goes deep on Nutrition Facts, we recap multiple culinary schemes, and Arik drops a history bomb. A brief tour of chairs: World Market’s Eero Saarinen Chair Knoll Saarinen Chairs and Tables The infamous Aeron chair The more reasonable Mirra 2 chair No More Oppatoo Ariana Grande’s new tattoo Don’t draw the teeth The Rolls Royce of toilet levers You are now subscribed to Nutrition Facts: The Canada Food Guide The 1990s Canada Food Guide The American MyPlate The new nutrition facts labels Lemo...

Feb 08, 20191 hr 1 minEp. 6

I Made This Be Good

Arik continues his tour of the Pacific Northwest, Allen tries not to get drafted, and we crack open more critical adulting tips. Say hello, new logo on the Slack Blog Brand New’s take on Slack How to pronounce Schlage Do By Friday 56: On Fleck Shuswap Lake 2018 BC Electoral Referendum Single Transferable Vote Point Roberts, Washington Enclaves and Exclaves The Hala’ib Triangle WikiHow: How to Find a Wood Stud in a Wall to Hang Pictures On...

Jan 25, 20191 hr 3 minEp. 5

Adulting Life Hack Fact

We do some mass follow-up, Allen has a reckoning about movies, Arik ‘splains Sesame Street, and Allen encounters Hamilton. Using Dual SIM with an eSIM - Apple Support WikiHow: How to clean a bathtub with a broom Accidental Tech Podcast ep. 300 Planet Money 670: The Santa Suit Nicola Romeo’s moustache The sound of silent film The Musical Notation podcast Rechov Sumsum and Sesame Street around the world Zeliboba...

Jan 11, 20191 hr 8 minEp. 4

Caligulember

Google News tortures Allen, Paris battles garbage barricades, and the Romans ruin our calendars. Google News The Salmon Arm Love Triangle Murder The Renovation of Paris BC’s Proportional Representation Referendum The Balls of Amazon The worst hoodie ad of all time The Months of the Year...

Dec 28, 201855 minEp. 3

Wait, It Gets Worse

Allen doesn’t get fired, Arik introduces the horror that is the Alfa Romeo logo, and we learn the facts about garburators. Keep the feedback coming! We’ve received some great ones that we’ll cover once we finish publishing our pre-recorded episodes. Alfa Romeo’s horrifying logo Nicola Romeo and his moustache Under Consideration’s Brand New Wikihow: How to Clean and Maintain a Dishwasher Goldeneye 64 Gets Down...

Dec 14, 20181 hr 6 minEp. 2

Cheese Scheme

Arik’s car melts, Allen details a cheese scheme, and we review some critical tips for home and travel. Tell us we’re wrong! (Or if you like the show you can also tell us that.) The e-Golf The Canadian Cheese Cartel Moshi Moshi WikiHow: 3 Ways to Clean Brooms...

Dec 02, 201852 minEp. 1
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